Server device and vehicle

ABSTRACT

A server device includes: a server communication unit configured to communicate with a vehicle, and receive fallen object avoidance information from the vehicle, the fallen object avoidance information including position information on a fallen object and information indicating whether an avoidance operation was performed by the vehicle for the fallen object; and a server control unit configured to determine, for the same fallen object that is present at the same position, whether the same fallen object should be avoided based on the fallen object avoidance information, and notify a first following vehicle that the same fallen object should be avoided when the server control unit determines that the same fallen object should be avoided, the first following vehicle being a vehicle that is traveling within a predetermined range behind the same fallen object.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/929,152, filed Oct. 9, 2019, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. U.S. application Ser. No. 15/929,152claims priority to Japanese Application No. 2018-225418 filed on Nov.30, 2018 including the specification, drawings and abstract isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a server device and a vehicle.

2. Description of Related Art

There is an on-vehicle device that captures the image of a road fordetecting a fallen object on the road by analyzing the image (forexample, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-323117 (JP2007-323117 A)). The on-vehicle device described in Japanese PatentApplication Publication No. 2007-323117 (JP 2007-323117 A) (related art)sends the information on a fallen object to a roadside device. When theinformation on the fallen object is acquired from the roadside device,the central management device notifies the vehicles traveling near thefallen object about the information on the fallen object.

SUMMARY

Some fallen objects on a road should be avoided during traveling, whilesome others need not necessarily be avoided (that is, fallen objectsthat do not cause any problem when run over), However, in aconfiguration, such as that of the above-described related art, in whicha fallen object is only detected using image analysis, a fallen objectthat does not need to be avoided may be detected, sometimes with theresult that the information on this fallen object is notified to thetraveling vehicles. Such a notification, when received by a vehicle,sometimes causes the driver to perform an unnecessary avoidanceoperation.

The present disclosure provides a server device and a vehicle.

A first aspect of the disclosure provides a server device. The serverdevice according to the first aspect includes: a server communicationunit configured to communicate with a vehicle, and receive fallen objectavoidance information from the vehicle, the fallen object avoidanceinformation including position information on a fallen object andinformation indicating whether an avoidance operation was performed bythe vehicle for the fallen object; and a server control unit configuredto determine, for the same fallen object that is present at the sameposition, whether the same fallen object should be avoided based on thefallen object avoidance information, and notify a first followingvehicle that the same fallen object should be avoided when the servercontrol unit determines that the same fallen object should be avoided,the first following vehicle being a vehicle that is traveling within apredetermined range behind the same fallen object.

A second aspect of the disclosure provides a vehicle. The vehicleaccording to the second aspect includes: a communication unit configuredto communicate with a server device; a capturing device configured tocapture a road ahead of the vehicle; and a control unit configured toassociate, when the control unit detects from a captured image that afirst fallen object is present on a lane in which the vehicle istraveling, position information on the first fallen object withinformation indicating whether an avoidance operation was performed forthe first fallen object, send the associated information to the serverdevice as fallen object avoidance information via the communicationunit, and receive a signal from the server device via the communicationunit, the signal indicating that a second fallen object should beavoided.

A third aspect of the disclosure provides a vehicle. The vehicleaccording to the third aspect includes: a communication unit configuredto communicate with other vehicles; a capturing device configured tocapture a road ahead of the vehicle; and a control unit configured toassociate, when the control unit detects from a captured image that afirst fallen object is present on a lane in which the vehicle istraveling, position information on the first fallen object withinformation indicating whether an avoidance operation was performed forthe first fallen object, send the associated information to a firstvehicle among the other vehicles as first fallen object avoidanceinformation via, the communication unit, determine, when second fallenobject avoidance information is received from a second vehicle among theother vehicles, whether a second fallen object should be avoided basedon the second fallen object avoidance information, and notify a driverof the vehicle that the second fallen object should be avoided when itis determined that the second fallen object should be avoided.

According to the present disclosure, road traffic safety can beimproved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance ofexemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denotelike elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an information processing systemin one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a situation in which a vehicle detects afallen object on a lane using a captured image;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of fallen object avoidanceinformation;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a serverstorage unit;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a situation in which a vehicle notifies thefollowing vehicle of a fallen object that should be avoided;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for notifying about afallen object; and

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram of processing executed by the informationprocessing system in this embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detailbelow with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of an example of an information processingsystem S in this embodiment. The information processing system Sincludes a vehicle 1 and a server device 2. The vehicle 1 is, forexample, an automobile but is not limited to it and may be any vehicle.Although one vehicle 1 and one server device 2 are shown in FIG. 1 forthe ease of description, the information processing system S may includeone or more vehicles 1 and one or more server devices 2. The vehicle 1and the server device 2 are configured in such a way that they cancommunicate with each other via a network such as a mobile communicationnetwork or the Internet.

First, an overview of the information processing system S in thisembodiment will be described. The vehicle 1 captures the road ahead ofthe vehicle 1. When it is detected from the captured image that there isa fallen object on the lane in which the vehicle 1 is traveling, thevehicle 1 associates the position information on the fallen object withthe information indicating whether the avoidance operation was performedfor the fallen object. The vehicle 1 sends the associated information tothe server device 2 as fallen object avoidance information. When thefallen object avoidance information is received, the server device 2determines whether to avoid the fallen object based on the fallen objectavoidance information. When it is determined that the fallen objectshould be avoided, the server device 2 sends a signal to the followingvehicle, which is traveling within the predetermined range behind thefallen object, to notify that the fallen object should be avoided.

Thus, when determining whether to avoid a fallen object, the serverdevice 2 in this embodiment uses the information indicating whether thevehicle 1 actually performed the avoidance operation. Using thisinformation makes it possible to determine more accurately whether thefallen object should be avoided. Therefore, the server device 2 canreduce the output of an incorrect message that prompts the followingvehicle to avoid a fallen object that need not be avoided, improvingroad traffic safety (for example, accidents are reduced). In addition,the information on a fallen object that should avoided is provided tothe government. This makes it possible to quickly remove the fallenobject.

Returning to FIG. 1 , the internal configuration of each of the vehicle1 and the server device 2 will be described below in detail.

The vehicle 1 includes a capturing device 11, a position informationacquisition unit 12, a storage unit 13, a control unit 14, and acommunication unit 15.

The capturing device 11 includes the so-called on-vehicle camera thatcaptures the image of the road ahead of the vehicle 1 (outside of thevehicle 1). The capturing device 11 may generate the continuous image ofthe road ahead of the vehicle 1 is while the vehicle 1 is moving orstationary and record the generated image in the storage unit 13. Natethat instead of the on-vehicle camera, any communication terminal suchas a smartphone may function as the capturing device 11.

The position information acquisition unit 12 includes one or morereceivers corresponding to any satellite positioning system. Forexample, the position information acquisition unit 12 may include aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver. The position informationacquisition unit 12 detects the position information that indicates theposition at which the vehicle 1 is stopped or traveling. The positioninformation acquisition unit 12 may further include an electroniccompass for acquiring the information on the direction in which thevehicle 1 is pointing.

The storage unit 13, in which various types of information are recordedand stored, includes one or more memories. The “memory” includes, but isnot limited to, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic memory, or an opticalmemory. Each memory included in the storage unit 13 may function as, forexample, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cachememory. The storage unit 13 stores any information related to theoperation of the vehicle 1. The storage unit 13 may store theinformation on results produced by analysis and processing by thecontrol unit 14. The storage unit 13 may store the vehicle controlprogram of the host vehicle and various types of information related tothe operation or control of the vehicle 1.

The control unit 14 includes one or more processors. The “processor” maybe a general purpose processor or a dedicated processor specialized forspecific processing. For example, an electronic control unit (ECU)mounted on the vehicle 1 may function as the control unit 14. Thecontrol unit 14 controls the overall operation of the vehicle 1. Forexample, the control unit 14 controls the capturing device 11, theposition information acquisition unit 12, the storage unit 13 and thecommunication unit 15 and, at the same time, controls all the operationsrelated to the traveling and operation of the vehicle 1. For example,the control unit 14 can analyze an image captured by the capturingdevice 11 and, as a result of the analysis, detect a fallen object.

The communication unit 15 includes a communication module that performscommunication between the vehicle 1 and the server device 2, Thecommunication unit 15 may include, as necessary, a communication modulethat performs inter-vehicle communication between the vehicle 1 andanother vehicle not via the server device 2. The communication unit 15may include a communication module for connection to the network or acommunication module conforming to mobile communication standards suchas the 4th generation (4G) and the 5th generation (5G). For example, anon-vehicle communication device mounted on the vehicle 1, such as thedata communication module (DCM), may function as the communication unit15.

The server device 2 includes a server communication unit 21, a serverstorage unit 22, and a server control unit 23.

The server communication unit 21 includes a communication module forcommunication between the server device 2 and the vehicle 1 or forcommunication between the server device 2 and a client (public officesystem, etc.). The server communication unit 21 may include acommunication module for connection to the network. The servercommunication unit 21 can receive information sent from the vehicle 1and, at the same time, can send information or instructions to thevehicle 1. The server communication unit 21 may receive, for example,the position information on a fallen object and the fallen objectavoidance information from the vehicle 1. When there are a plurality ofthe vehicles 1, the server communication unit 21 may receive theposition information on a fallen object and the fallen object avoidanceinformation from the plurality of the vehicles 1.

The server storage unit 22, in which various types of information arerecorded and stored, includes one or more memories. The “memory”includes, but is not limited to, a semiconductor memory, a magneticmemory, or an optical memory. Each memory included in the server storageunit 22 may function, for example, as a main storage device, anauxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The server storage unit 22stores, for example, the information sent from the vehicle 1 (fallenobject avoidance information, captured image, etc.). The server storageunit 22 may store the server control program or various programs relatedto the overall operation and control of the is information processingsystem S.

The server control unit 23 includes one or more processors. The“processor” may be a general purpose processor or a dedicated processorspecialized for specific processing. The server control unit 23 controlsthe server communication unit 21 and the server storage unit 22. At thesame time, the server control unit 23 performs all the controloperations for the overall operations of the server device 2 and theinformation processing system S. For example, the server control unit 23can analyze the information obtained from the vehicle 1 (e.g., fallenobject avoidance information) and, as a result of this analysis,determine whether to avoid a fallen object.

The processing performed by the vehicle 1 and the server device 2 willbe described in detail below. The vehicle 1 uses the capturing device 11to capture the image of the road ahead of the vehicle 1. From thecaptured image, the vehicle 1 detects a fallen object F (see FIG. 2 ) onthe lane, in which the vehicle 1 travels, by any object detectionmethod. When a fallen object F is detected, the vehicle 1 determines therelative positional relationship between the vehicle 1 and the fallenobject F from the captured image. Then, from the relative positionalrelationship determined as described above and the position informationon the vehicle 1 acquired by the position information acquisition unit12, the vehicle 1 determines the position of the fallen object F. Notethat instead of determining the position of the fallen object F asdescribed above, the vehicle 1 may also determine the position of thevehicle 1 itself as the position of the fallen object F.

After detecting the fallen object F, the vehicle 1 determines, via thecontrol unit 14, whether the vehicle 1 performed the avoidance operationfor the fallen object F. Whether the avoidance operation was performedmay be determined based on whether at least one of the steeringoperation and the brake operation was performed.

The vehicle 1 establishes an association among the following three: (1)the position information on the fallen object F, (2) the informationindicating whether the avoidance operation was performed for the fallenobject F, and (3) the degree of the avoidance operation (for example,high, low, etc.) for the fallen object. The vehicle 1 sends theinformation, associated as described above, to the server device 2 asthe fallen object avoidance information. The information on the degreeof the avoidance operation is optional. FIG. 3 shows several examples ofthe fallen object avoidance information. The avoidance operation whose“Degree of avoidance operation” in FIG. 3 is “High” may include thesudden steering operation and the sudden braking operation. The suddensteering operation corresponds, for example, to a steering operation inwhich the “lateral acceleration is 0.25 G or more” or the “yaw angularvelocity is 8.5 deg./s or more”. The sudden braking operationcorresponds, for example, to a braking operation in which the“longitudinal acceleration is −0.25 G or less”. The vehicle 1 may sendthe image captured by the capturing device 11, together with the fallenobject avoidance information, to the server device 2.

There may be a plurality of the vehicles 1. Each of the plurality of thevehicle 1 sends the fallen object avoidance information such as the onedescribed above.

The server device 2 receives the fallen object avoidance informationfrom the plurality of the vehicles 1 and stores the received informationin the server storage unit 22 as shown in FIG. 4 . More specifically,the server device 2 assigns an ID to each fallen object F, in assigningan ID, the server device 2 determines that two or more fallen objects Fhaving the same position information are the same fallen object andassigns the same ID to those fallen objects. For each fallen object F towhich the same ID is assigned, the server device 2 counts and stores thenumber of times the avoidance operation was performed (This correspondsto “Number of performed avoidance operations” in FIG. 4 . The sameapplies hereinafter) and the number of times the avoidance operation wasnot performed (This corresponds to “Number of non-performed avoidanceoperations” in FIG. 4 . The same applies hereinafter). Note that insteadof using the counting method described above, the server device 2 mayadd L not to “Number of performed avoidance operations”, but to “Numberof non-performed avoidance operations” when the avoidance operation wasperformed but its degree is low (that is, when “Degree of avoidanceoperation” in FIG. 3 is “Low”). That is, the server control unit maydetermine whether to avoid a fallen object based further on the degreeof the avoidance operation.

Note that instead of assigning the same ID as described above, the sameID may also be assigned to a plurality of fallen objects as follows.That is, based on the position information included in the fallen objectavoidance information, the server device 2 determines whether there is aplurality of fallen objects within a predetermined distance. Thepredetermined distance is, for example, 3 meters, but any distance maybe used. In addition, the server device 2 identifies, through imageanalysis, the types of the plurality of fallen objects that have beendetected within the predetermined distance (for example, tires, fallingstones, cardboards, plastic bags, cargo, etc.) and, based on result ofthis image analysis, determines whether there is a plurality of fallenobjects of the same type. When there is a plurality of fallen objectsthat belong to the same type, the server device 2 may determine thatthose fallen objects are the same fallen object and assign the same IDto them.

For the same fallen object, the server device 2 calculates the ratio ofthe number of the vehicles 1 that performed the avoidance operation tothe total number of the vehicles 1 that performed the avoidanceoperation and the vehicles 1 that did not perform the avoidanceoperation. When it is determined that the calculated ratio is equal toor greater than a predetermined value, the server device 2 determinesthat the fallen object should be avoided. For example, for the fallenobject F with the ID of F1 shown in FIG. 4 , the server device 2determines whether the ratio of the number of performed avoidanceoperations (9) to the total number (10) of performed avoidanceoperations (9) and non-performed avoidance operations (1) (that is, 90%)is more than a predetermined value.

The server device 2 determines that a fallen object F having the ratioequal to or higher than a predetermined value is a fallen object thatshould be avoided. The predetermined value is, for example, 80%. Whenthe predetermined value is 80%, the server device 2 determines that thefallen object F with the ID of F1, shown in FIG. 4 , is a fallen objectthat should be avoided. Note that the predetermined value need notalways be 80% but may be any other value. The processing to determinewhether a fallen object that should be avoided may be performed by theserver control unit 23.

When a fallen object F that should be avoided is detected, the serverdevice 2 detects a following vehicle V, which is traveling in apredetermined range R behind the fallen object F (see FIG. 5 ), byreferring to the position information obtained from the vehiclestraveling on each road. The following vehicle that is traveling in apredetermined range behind the fallen object may be a vehicle that istraveling toward the fallen object ahead in the same lane and is withina predetermined distance behind the fallen object as shown in FIG. 5 .Note that instead of a vehicle that is traveling in the same lane, thefollowing vehicle that is traveling in the predetermined range behindthe fallen object may also be a vehicle that is traveling in one of thelanes of the road and is within a predetermined distance behind thefallen object.

When a following vehicle traveling in a predetermined range behind thefallen object is detected, the server device 2 notifies the followingvehicle of the position information on the fallen object that should beavoided and of the information indicating that the fallen object shouldbe avoided. The processing to notify the following vehicle may beperformed by the server control unit 23.

The following vehicle, which has received the notification, may output avoice message or a screen display to notify the driver that there is afallen object in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling. The screendisplay includes, for example, a display on the screen of the navigationsystem or a display on the head-up display. Note that instead of thevoice message or the screen display described above, the followingvehicle may determine the position of a fallen object from the positioninformation received from the server device 2 and display a warning A,such as that shown in FIG. 6 , on the display unit. For example, asshown in FIG. 6 , the warning A includes, but is not limited to, theinformation on the position of the fallen object and a messageindicating there is the fallen object that should be avoided. Thewarning A may further include, for example, a message prompting theavoidance operation, the image of the fallen object, or the type of thefallen object. To prevent driver's distraction, the following vehiclemay display a summarized or shortened display message on the displayunit.

The following vehicle, when autonomous, may be steered autonomously toavoid a fallen object that should be avoided.

In addition to the function described above, the server device 2 mayhave is another function. That is, the server device 2 determines, foreach of a plurality of adjacent lanes extending in the same direction,whether there is a fallen object that should be avoided. The processingto determine whether there is such a fallen object may be performed bythe server control unit 23. The server device 2 may notify the followingvehicle traveling in the one of the other lanes about a lane that is oneof the plurality of lanes and has the smallest number of fallen objectsthat should be avoided. The processing to notify the following vehicleabout such a lane may be performed by the server control unit 23. Thefollowing vehicle, when autonomous, may be steered autonomously totravel in a lane with the least number of fallen objects that should beavoided.

After notifying the following vehicle that there is a fallen object thatshould be avoided, the server device 2 may determine whether there isstill the fallen object that should be avoided by using an image thatanother following vehicle has captured at the same position where thefallen object was detected. When it is determined that there is no morethe fallen object that should be avoided, the server device 2 may send anotification, which indicates that there is no more the fallen object,to a vehicle that has been notified that the fallen object should beavoided. The processing to send the notification to a vehicle, which hasbeen notified that the fallen object should be avoided, may be performedby the server control unit 23.

FIG. 7 shows a sequence diagram of the operation performed at anarbitrary time by the information processing system S in thisembodiment.

Step S1: The vehicle 1 determines whether a fallen object is detectedfrom the captured image of the road ahead of the vehicle 1.

Step S2: When a fallen object is detected from the captured image (Yesin step S1), the vehicle 1 associates the position information on thefallen object with the information indicating whether the avoidanceoperation was performed by the vehicle 1 for the fallen object. Thevehicle 1 sends the associated information to the server device 2 as thefallen object avoidance information.

Step S3: The server device 2 receives the fallen object avoidanceinformation from the vehicle 1.

Step S4: The server device 2 determines, based on the fallen objectavoidance information, whether the same fallen object that is present atthe same position should be avoided. The description of thedetermination method, which has been described above, is omitted here.

Step S5: When it is determined that the fallen object should be avoided(Yes in step S4), the server device 2 notifies the following vehicle,which is traveling within a predetermined range behind the fallenobject, that the fallen object should be avoided.

Step S6: After notifying that there is the fallen object that should beavoided, the server device 2 determines whether there is still thefallen object.

Step S7: When it is determined that there is no more the fallen object(No in step S6), the server device 2 notifies a vehicle, which has beennotified that the fallen object should be avoided, that there is no morethe fallen object.

As described above, when determining whether to avoid a fallen object,the server device 2 in this embodiment uses the information indicatingwhether the vehicle 1 actually performed the avoidance operation. Usingthis information makes it possible to determine more accurately whetherthe fallen object should be avoided. Therefore, the server device 2 canreduce the output of an incorrect message that prompts the followingvehicle to avoid a fallen object that need not be avoided, improvingroad traffic safety. In addition, the information on a fallen objectthat should avoided is provided to the government. This makes itpossible to quickly remove the fallen object.

In addition, the server device 2 in this embodiment calculates the ratioof the number of the vehicles 1 that performed the avoidance operationto the total number of the vehicles 1 that performed the avoidanceoperation and the vehicles 1 that did not perform the avoidanceoperation. When it is determined that the calculated ratio is equal toor greater than a predetermined value, the server device 2 determinesthat the fallen object should be avoided. This allows the server device2 to statistically determine whether the avoidance operation isnecessary, making it possible to determine whether to is avoid moreaccurately.

For each of a plurality of adjacent lanes in the same direction, theserver device 2 in this embodiment determines whether there is a fallenobject that should be avoided. Based on this determination, the serverdevice 2 notifies the following vehicle of a lane that is one of theplurality of lanes and has the smallest number of fallen objects thatshould be avoided. That is, the server device 2 notifies the followingvehicle of a lane with the smallest number of fallen objects that shouldbe avoided and is therefore relatively safe. This notification guidesthe following vehicle to a lane that is relatively safe, furtherimproving road traffic safety.

When a first fallen object and a second fallen object are present withina predetermined distance and they belong to the same type, the serverdevice 2 in this embodiment determines that the first fallen object andthe second fallen object are the same fallen object. The processing todetermine that the first fallen object and the second fallen object arethe same fallen object may be performed by the server control unit 23.Therefore, even if the first fallen object (for example, a plastic hag)is moved to another position when touched by a traveling vehicle orblown away by wind and, as a result, the first fallen object is detectedas the second fallen object that is seemingly different from the firstfallen object, the server device 2 determines that these two fallenobjects are the same fallen object. Based on this determination, theserver device 2 combines the two pieces of fallen object avoidanceinformation, one for the first fallen object and the other for thesecond fallen object, into one. The fallen object avoidance information,generated correctly in this way, allows the server device 2 to determinemore accurately as to whether to avoid a fallen object.

After it is determined that a fallen object should be avoided, theserver device 2 in this embodiment determines whether there is still thefallen object that should be avoided, using an image that the followingvehicle 1 has captured at the same position where the fallen object wasdetected. The processing to determine whether there is still the fallenobject may be performed by the server control unit 23. When it isdetermined that there is no more the fallen object that should beavoided, the server control unit 23 sends a notification, whichindicates that there is no more the fallen object, to a vehicle that hasbeen notified that the fallen object should be avoided. That is, when anotification was once sent to the following vehicle to indicate thatthere was a fallen object that should be avoided but the fallen objectis no more present, the server device 2 notifies the following vehicleof this condition. Such a notification eliminates the need for thedriver of the following vehicle, who was once notified of the presenceof the fallen object and is not yet aware that the fallen object is nomore present, to perform unnecessary avoidance operations that mightotherwise be performed. Thus, the server device 2 can further improveroad traffic safety.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to thedrawings and embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in theart can easily make various changes and modifications based on thepresent disclosure. Therefore, it is to be noted that these changes andmodifications are within the scope of the present disclosure. Forexample, it is possible to relocate the functions included in each unitor each step in such a way that they are not logically contradictory,and it is possible to combine a plurality of units or steps into one orto divide a plurality of units or steps.

For example, in the embodiment described above, the vehicle 1 sends thefallen object avoidance information to the server device 2. However, inanother embodiment, the vehicle 1 may send the fallen object avoidanceinformation to another vehicle, communicably connected to the vehicle 1,not via the server device 2. Another vehicle may be, for example, afollowing vehicle that is traveling within a predetermined range behindthe fallen object such as the vehicle described in the above-mentionedembodiment. When the fallen object avoidance information is receivedfrom another preceding vehicle, the vehicle 1 may add its own fallenobject avoidance information, generated by the vehicle 1, to thereceived fallen object avoidance information and, then, send theresulting fallen object avoidance information to the following vehicle.In this way, the fallen object avoidance information may be accumulatedeach time it is sent to the following vehicle. In addition to thefunction described above, the vehicle 1 may have another function. Thatis, when the fallen object avoidance information is received from isanother preceding vehicle, the vehicle 1 may determine whether to avoidthe fallen object in the same way as the server device 2 determineswhether to avoid the fallen object in the embodiment described above.When it is determined that the fallen object should be avoided, thevehicle 1 may notify the following vehicle's driver that the fallenobject should be avoided. This notification may be output as a voicemessage or a screen display via the communication terminal of thefollowing vehicle's driver or may be output as a voice message or ascreen display via the terminal provided in the following vehicle. Inthis embodiment, the control unit 14 may be configured, when it isdetected from the captured image that a fallen object is present on thelane in which the vehicle is traveling, to associate positioninformation on the fallen object with information indicating whether anavoidance operation was performed for the fallen object and to send theassociated information to another vehicle as the fallen object avoidanceinformation via the communication unit. The control unit 14 may also beconfigured, when the fallen object avoidance information is receivedfrom another vehicle, to determine whether the fallen object should beavoided based on the fallen object avoidance information and, when it isdetermined that the fallen object should be avoided, to notify a driverof the vehicle that the fallen object should be avoided.

In the embodiment described above, the server device 2 notifies thefollowing vehicle of the position information on a fallen object thatshould be avoided and the information indicating that the fallen objectshould be avoided and then, the following vehicle, which has receivedthis notification, notifies the driver of the presence of the fallenobject via a voice message or a screen display. In another embodiment,the server device 2 notifies the following vehicle of the positioninformation on a fallen object that should be avoided and theinformation indicating that the fallen object should be avoided andthen, not the following vehicle, but the server device 2 may notify thecommunication terminal of the following vehicle's driver of the presenceof the fallen object via a voice message or a screen display.

In the embodiment described above, the server device 2 detects the typesof a plurality of fallen objects that are present within thepredetermined distance through image analysis and, based on the resultof the image analysis, determines whether the types of the plurality offallen objects are the same. In another embodiment, not the serverdevice 2 but the control unit 14 of the vehicle 1 may analyze the imagecaptured by the capturing device 11 and, based on the result of theanalysis, determine whether the types of a plurality of fallen objectsare the same. In this case, the fallen object avoidance information,sent from the vehicle 1 to the server device 2, includes the informationon the type.

A configuration is also possible in which any vehicle functions as thevehicle 1 in the embodiment described above. More specifically, aprogram describing the processing for implementing the functions of thevehicle 1 in this embodiment is stored in the memory of any vehicle sothat the program is read for execution by the processor of the vehicle.Similarly, a configuration is also possible in which a general-purposeinformation processing device, such as a computer, functions as theserver device 2 in the embodiment described above. Therefore, thedisclosure according to this embodiment may also be implemented as aprogram that can be executed by a processor.

The control unit 14 may be configured, when it is detected from acaptured image that a fallen object is present on the lane in which thevehicle is traveling, to associate position information on the fallenobject with information indicating whether an avoidance operation wasperformed for the fallen object and to send the associated informationto the server as fallen object avoidance information via thecommunication unit. The control unit 14 may also be configured toreceive a signal, which indicates that the fallen object should beavoided, from the server via the communication unit.

Also, the present disclosure may be realized with the embodimentsdescribed below.

One aspect of the present disclosure may provide a server control methodperformed by a server device configured to communicate with a vehiclevia a server communication unit. The server control method may include:receiving fallen object avoidance information from the vehicle, thefallen object avoidance information including position information on afallen object and information indicating whether an avoidance operationwas performed by the vehicle for the fallen object determining, for thesame fallen object that is present at the same position, whether thefallen object should be avoided based on the fallen object avoidanceinformation; and notifying a following vehicle that the fallen objectshould be avoided when it is determined that the fallen object should beavoided, the following vehicle being a vehicle that is traveling withina predetermined range behind the fallen object.

Another aspect of the present disclosure may provide a non-transitorystorage medium storing a server control program for execution on aserver device configured to communicate with a vehicle via a servercommunication unit. The server control program may cause the serverdevice to execute: receiving fallen object avoidance information fromthe vehicle, the fallen object avoidance information including positioninformation on a fallen object and information indicating whether anavoidance operation was performed by the vehicle for the fallen object;determining, for the same fallen object that is present at the sameposition, whether the fallen object should be avoided based on thefallen object avoidance information; and notifying a following vehiclethat the, fallen object should be avoided when it is determined that thefallen object should be avoided, the following vehicle being a vehiclethat is traveling within a predetermined range behind the fallen object.

Another aspect of the present disclosure may provide a vehicle controlmethod performed by a vehicle. The vehicle may include a capturingdevice, a communication unit, and a control unit. The vehicle may beconfigured to communicate with another vehicle via the communicationunit. The vehicle control method may include: capturing a road ahead ofthe vehicle using the capturing device; when it is detected from acaptured image that a fallen object is present on a lane in which thevehicle is traveling, associating position information on the fallenobject with information indicating whether an avoidance operation wasperformed for the fallen object and sending the associated informationto another vehicle as fallen object avoidance information via thecommunication unit; and when fallen object avoidance information isreceived from another vehicle, determining whether a fallen objectshould be avoided based on the fallen object avoidance information and,when it is determined that the fallen object should be avoided,notifying a driver of the vehicle that the fallen object should beavoided.

Another aspect of the present disclosure may provide a non-transitorystorage medium storing a vehicle control program for execution on avehicle. The vehicle may include a capturing device, a communicationunit, and a control unit. The vehicle may be configured to communicatewith another vehicle via, the communication unit. The vehicle controlprogram may cause the vehicle to execute: capturing a road ahead of thevehicle using the capturing device; when it is detected from a capturedimage that a fallen object is present on a lane in which the vehicle istraveling, associating position information on the fallen object withinformation indicating whether an avoidance operation was performed forthe fallen object and sending the associated information to anothervehicle as fallen object avoidance information via the communicationunit; and when fallen object avoidance information is received fromanother vehicle, determining whether a fallen object should be avoidedbased on the fallen object avoidance information and, when it isdetermined that the fallen object should be avoided, notifying a driverof the vehicle that the fallen object should be avoided.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle comprising: a communication circuitryconfigured to communicate with a server device; a camera configured tocapture a road ahead of the vehicle; and a control circuitry configuredto: associate, when the control circuitry detects from a captured imagethat a first fallen object is present on a lane in which the vehicle istraveling, position information on the first fallen object withinformation indicating whether an avoidance operation was performed forthe first fallen object, send the associated information to the serverdevice as fallen object avoidance information via the communicationcircuitry, and receive a signal from the server device via thecommunication circuitry, the signal indicating that a second fallenobject should be avoided, wherein a server control circuitry of theserver device is configured to determine that the first fallen objectshould be avoided when the server control circuitry determines that aratio of the number of vehicles that performed the avoidance operationfor the first fallen object to the total number of: i) vehicles thatperformed the avoidance operation for the first fallen object; and ii)vehicles that did not perform the avoidance operation for the firstfallen object, is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.
 2. Thevehicle according to claim 1, wherein whether the avoidance operationwas performed is determined based on at least one of a steeringoperation and a braking operation.
 3. The vehicle according to claim 1,wherein the server control circuitry of the server device is furtherconfigured to determine, for each of a plurality of adjacent lanesextending in a same direction, whether there is a fallen object thatshould be avoided on each of the plurality of adjacent lanes, and notifya second following vehicle of a lane that is one of the plurality ofadjacent lanes and that has a smallest number of fallen objects thatshould be avoided.
 4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein theserver control circuitry of the server device is configured to determinethat the first fallen object and the second fallen object are a samefallen object when the first fallen object and the second fallen objectare present within a predetermined distance and belong to a same type.5. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the server controlcircuitry of the server device is configured to determine, after theserver control circuitry determines that the fallen object is a targetfallen object that should be avoided, whether there is still the targetfallen object by using an image that a third following vehicle hascaptured at the same position where the target fallen object waspresent, and when it is determined that there is no more the targetfallen object that should be avoided, send a notification to a vehiclethat has been notified that the target fallen object should be avoided,the notification indicating that there is no more the target fallenobject.
 6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the fallen objectavoidance information further includes a degree of the avoidanceoperation, and the server control circuitry of the server device isconfigured to determine whether to avoid the fallen object based furtheron the degree.